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Itergator

A CodeQL library for detecting and analyzing iterator invalidation in C++ codebases.

Getting started

Set up CodeQL in Visual Studio Code. We recommend using the starter workspace.

Download Itergator and add it to your workspace.

git clone https://github.com/trailofbits/itergator

Open and run the desired queries.

To use the classes in your own queries, add Itergator to your qlpack.yml:

name: codeql-custom-queries-cpp
version: 0.0.0
libraryPathDependencies:
    - codeql-cpp
    - trailofbits-itergator

Then import the libraries:

import trailofbits.itergator.iterators
import trailofbits.itergator.dataflow
import trailofbits.itergator.invalidations.Destructor
import trailofbits.itergator.invalidations.STL

Queries

IteratedTypes.ql

Returns a list of iterated types.

There may be false positives, such as when an iterator is used in an expression that is assigned to another:

iterator __pos = __position._M_const_cast()

InvalidationFlows.ql

Returns a list of potential invalidations.

Results contain the iterator that may be invalidated, the access of the iterated variable, the top-level potentially invalidating function call, and the method call on the iterated variable. There is also an integer column significance. Lower values are expected to have less noise in their results.

This query has a high false positive rate. Analyzing the path of the function calls is useful to confirm a potential invalidation. An example of a path query can be seen in examples/LLVMPath.ql.

Libraries

trailofbits.itergator.iterators

Classes representing iterators and invalidations in the codebase.

<a name="Iterator"></a>

class Iterator extends Variable

A variable that stores an iterator.

<a name="Iterated"></a>

class Iterated extends VariableAccess

The access of a container where it is being iterated over, e.g. vec.begin().

Member predicate Iterator iterator() returns a variable the resulting iterator is stored in.

<a name="Invalidator"></a>

class Invalidator extends InvalidatorT

A function call within the scope of an iterator that could trigger an invalidation.

Member predicate Iterated iterated() returns an Iterated element in the assignment of an iterator with the same scope as this Invalidator.

Member predicate Invalidation invalidation() returns a function call that could invalidate an iterator in the scope of this invalidator.

<a name="Invalidation"></a>

class Invalidation extends InvalidatorT

A function call that is a potential invalidation and could be reached from an Invalidator.

Member predicate Invalidator invalidator() returns an Invalidator function call within the scope of a correctly typed iterator that this is reachable from.

<a name="InvalidatorT"></a>

class InvalidatorT extends FunctionCallR

A class of function call that composes the path from an Invalidator to an Invalidation.

This is primarily an internal class, but it may be useful in some queries. View the implementation for details.

trailofbits.itergator.dataflow

Global data flow configurations for Itergator's classes.

class IteratorFlow extends DataFlow::Configuration

class IteratedFlow extends DataFlow::Configuration

class InvalidationFlow extends DataFlow::Configuration

class InvalidatorFlow extends DataFlow::Configuration

trailofbits.itergator.invalidations

A framework for designating functions as potentially invalidating.

abstract class PotentialInvalidation extends Function

This class can be extended to define potential invalidations.

Member predicate invalidates(Iterated i) holds if a call to the function could invalidate an iterator of the type of the parameter i.

Two potential invalidation definitions are already written:

import trailofbits.itergator.invalidations.Destructor

Destructors of the iterated type.

import trailofbits.itergator.invalidations.STL

Member functions of STL types based on the C++ specification. This does not include destructors.

These classes may be used as examples when writing custom invalidation conditions.

License

Itergator is licensed and distributed under the CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license. Contact us if you're looking for an exception to the terms.